Breakfast Pizza

Remember how I thought I could make a better breakfast pizza than Settebello?

Behold!

This was actually an impulse creation, but it was delicious. Turns out you can’t really mess up a breakfast pizza.

I fried up some bacon, chopped it into rough pieces, and put it on some dough, along with a mozzarella/parmesan mix. Then I cracked some eggs on top of the pizza (note: if your pizza doesn’t have a raised edge the egg will run over the sides) and put it in the oven for 5-10 minutes. When it came out I sprinkled some parsley over the top.

There was no recipe to speak of really. Next time I’d like to add some chives and shallots. It was a ridiculously satisfying meal.

Bacon and Egg Roll

This is my version of the bacon and egg roll, and it shits all over the Red Hill one. I didn’t even try to make it super fancy by adding stuff like sauce or fried onions, though I did add some avocado for colour. It cost around a quarter of the Red Hill one and tasted much better, and was ridiculously simple to make. I originally made it with 2 eggs, but that made it a bit eggy. 1 thick rasher of rindless bacon, 1 egg, some avocado, plus salt and pepper. Easy!

Poor James got food poisoning in Sydney (I was going to say “caught food poisoning” but it’s not contagious. Maybe I should have written “James was food poisoned “). We’re not entirely sure if it’s food poisoning or a stomach bug, not that it matters. James was a bit worried that if it was a stomach bug I might get it, but I have a crazy strong immune system. I haven’t been sick in about two and a half (maybe three?) years.

I’ve been taking care of James since Wednesday evening, and when I made this on Friday morning it was the first meal he ate with gusto. Actually, I lie. I’d bought him a borek from the Vic Market, and that was the first meal he ate with gusto. Then he said he was still hungry so I made him this roll after I saw him sneaking peeks at mine.

Bacon and eggs would have had a better macro breakdown, but there’s something about stuffing everything into a roll. Maybe cos you get to cradle it in your hands like a soft little hamburger.

Very Rough Nutritional Guide:
1 roll: 469 calories, 50% fat, 19% protein, 31% carbs 

Settebello

Settebello
46-50 hardware lane, Melbourne

Late last year I bought some Zoupon (at least I think it was Zoupon) vouchers for a cafe called Settebello. I paid $11 for a $30 voucher, which was a pretty good deal so I ended up buying a few.

The vouchers expire in early March, so I’ve been frantically trying to use them up, and a couple of Saturdays ago James and I had breakfast there.

I ordered a glass of orange juice and a breakfast pizza. The pizza base was quite tough and thick, and the bacon wasn’t as flavorsome as the bacon I normally buy. Still, pizza is still alright even when it’s not great. I might have a go at making a breakfast pizza at some point.

James ordered some sort of eggy salsa-y thing and a long black coffee. Sorry, I’m not good at remembering stuff, and there aren’t any prices or menus on the Settebello website. He seemed to like his breakfast alright, though he wasn’t wowed. He said the coffee was decent, but his gold standard is still Seven Seeds.

Look at him sitting so patiently while I take a photo of his food. =)

To use up the voucher I also  ordered a custard tart with some nutella swirled in. Delicious! Best part of the breakfast!

The meal came to a couple of bucks over $30. It was incredible value for the actual $13 that we paid, but in terms of the actual food it’s not as good as G&O or Fandango (though admittedly we are spoiled when it comes to our local breakfast places).

I went there a week later for lunch with Ivo and Cat, and I think their lunch offerings are far stronger.

Saturday Morning Breakfast

Or was it Friday? The days are kind of blurring together now that James is at home. Earlier that week I’d picked up some organic bacon ($5 for 6 rashers – eek) and garlic sourdough at the Vic Market, and served it with some eggs, chives (snipped from the balcony garden), and truss tomatoes.

I think next time I’d want to add something green – avocado is the obvious choice, but I’d prefer something lower in calories – maybe some wilted spinach or asparagus?

This is the reason I need it to be low calorie:

This crusty bundle of deliciousness was baked by Noisette in Port Melbourne. The aroma of roasted garlic was heavenly, and even though I’d intended to save half for lunch the next day, I’m ashamed to report that we polished most of it off for breakfast.

Easy Peasy Guacamole

In general I’m a bit leery about avocados. They’re nutritious and yummy, but very calorie-dense so I try to limit my consumption. Most of the time when I have avocado it’s in guacamole (the other time is when it’s on rye bread, slathered with dijon mustard).

This is my favourite guacamole recipe. It’s quick, easy, and uses a lot of coriander. More coriander is always a good thing. Allrecipes says it serves 4 (which is the amount I used for the nutritional guide), but I use less for burritos. This batch makes enough for about 10 generous burrito serves.

Guacamole recipe

• 3 avocados – peeled, pitted and mashed
• 1 lime, juiced
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup diced onion (I sometimes omit this, depending on how I feel)
• 3 tablespoons chopped fresh coriander
• 2 tomatoes, diced
• 1 teaspoon minced garlic
• 1 pinch ground cayenne pepper (optional)

Method

1. In a medium bowl, mash together the avocados, lime juice, and salt. Mix in onion, coriander, tomatoes, and garlic. Stir in cayenne pepper. Refrigerate 1 hour for best flavor, or serve immediately.

 

Very Rough Nutritional Guide
1  serve: 267 calories, 90% fat, 5% protein, 5% carbs

Burritos in the slow cooker

Now that James is at home during the day, I’ve been experimenting with inverting the size of our meals. We normally have a small breakfast, medium-sized lunch and large dinner, whereas I’ve heard that it’s actually better to have a big breakfast and a small dinner. I do feel less hungry during the day, but it was pretty weird having burritos for breakfast.

I had to be a bit tricky with the timing – the chuck gets slow cooked for 6 hours, so I stayed up until 2am to chuck everything into the slow cooker. Luckily it’s super quick, so I was in bed at like … 2:05. In the morning I woke up to the smell of burritos in the air. Then it was just a matter of making the guacamole (which, in hindsight, I also should have made the night prior), and assembling the burrito.

This slow cooker recipe makes enough meat for 10 burritos, which will feed me and James for 2 meals. It works out pretty well because the guacamole recipe also makes enough for 10 burritos (although you have to be pretty generous with the servings). A jar of salsa is enough for both meals, and the only thing that doesn’t get used up is the sour cream.

Slow Cooker Burrito Meat

800g beef chuck (I cut this into 4 or 5 big chunks)
1 onion
taco seasoning mix (I make my own, but you can also use the individual serve packets from supermarkets)
1 cup water
1 small jar taco sauce

Method

1. Thinly slice onion and place in slow cooker. Add beef chuck.
2. Combine seasoning mixture with 1 cup water and pour over beef and onion.
3. Set slow cooker to low and heat 6-8 hours (I find 6 is enough but it will depend on your slow cooker)
4. When meat is done, remove from slow cooker and shred with a fork. Add taco sauce and combine.

Even though taco seasoning is cheap at the supermarket I make mine from scratch. It just seems wrong to buy pre-mixed when I already have all the necessary ingredients spices. This recipe from Allrecipes makes about the equivalent of a single serve sachet that you can buy for 50c at Woolworths.

Taco seasoning mix recipe

• 1 tablespoon chili powder
• 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/4 teaspoon onion powder
• 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
• 1/4 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1/2 teaspoon paprika
• 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon sea salt
• 1 teaspoon black pepper

Method

1. In a small bowl, mix everything together.

The macronutrient breakdown of the meat is actually pretty good, though obviously the fat and carb counts go up once you add guacamole/cheese/sour cream and the tortillas. But the meat is the tasty part – I bet James would not be opposed to just digging in with a fork.

This time I subbed in low fat sour cream, which tasted like plain yoghurt. That works though, because now I can just use a dollop of yoghurt (which I always have in the fridge) instead of going out and buying sour cream especially. In other healthy news, I realised the other day that I used to be able to eat 4 of these for dinner and now I’m satisfied by eating 2. How times have changed!

 

Very Rough Nutritional Guide
Enough meat for 1 burrito: 110 calories, 23% fat, 69% protein, 8% carbs

Homemade Muesli

Most days I prefer to eat simple breakfasts. I’ve just woken up and I’m not really in a cooking mood, so I like to grab some yoghurt or fruit. Some days I plan ahead and have a batch of steel cut oats waiting in the fridge, and other days I have this.

I was inspired to make muesli because James has just started training for next year’s Melbourne Marathon. He’s doing several short (5-6km) runs a week plus gym, and he needs carbs for recovery. And also, this muesli is freaking delicious. It’s nutty and toasted, with bursts of sweetness from the dried fruit. It’s very calorie-dense because of all the nuts, but I find that a serve with a dollop of greek yoghurt will tide me over until my morning snack.

I love that this makes a huge batch so I just need to set aside an hour or so in the afternoon, and I have breakfast for the next couple of weeks. The recipe is adapted from Megan’s Granola on Allrecipes. I’ve added the gram measurements that I use too, because I find it easier to weigh everything. You can be pretty loose with the measurements, so if I feel like extra fruit or nuts I’ll add those. This time I didn’t have enough walnuts so I substituted some cashews.

Ingredients

• 8 cups (650g) rolled oats
• 1 1/2 cups (170g) wheat germ
• 1 1/2 cups (140g) oat bran
• 1 cup (145g) sunflower seeds
• 1 cup (140g) finely chopped almonds
• 1 cup (120g) finely chopped pecans
• 1 cup (120g) finely chopped walnuts
• 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1 cup vegetable oil (pro tip: measure the oil first, so the maple syrup and honey won’t stick to the measuring cup)
• 1/4 cup maple syrup
• 3/4 cup honey
• 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
• 1 1/2 cups (200g) golden raisins
• 1 cup (150g) sweetened dried cranberries

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 165C (325F). Line two large baking sheets with parchment or aluminum foil, or just use an unlined large dutch oven like I did.
2. Combine the oats, wheat germ, oat bran, sunflower seeds, almonds, pecans, and walnuts in a large bowl. Stir together the salt, brown sugar, maple syrup, honey, oil, cinnamon, and vanilla in a saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium heat, then pour over the dry ingredients, and stir to coat. Dump the mixture in the dutch oven.
3. Bake in the preheated oven until crispy and toasted, about 20 minutes. Stir halfway through. Cool, then stir in the dried fruit before storing in an airtight container.

Very Rough Nutritional Guide:
1 serve (about 62g from memory): 396 calories, 49% fat, 9% protein, 42% carbs